This Week at Yavneh Academy

March 12, 2026 | 23 Adar 5786 | ויקהל פקודי

PARSHAT HASHAVUA

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Ganon Gimmel hopped right into Pesach learning, just like the frogs from the makot! We began by exploring the Haggadah and learning about the Seder and its special order. The children learned about Bnei Yisrael crossing the Yam Suf, too. We brought the story to life through a sensory activity where their feet were painted and footprints were made so they could experience “walking through the sea.”

The children also began working on their own Haggadot. We enjoyed several hands-on experiences connected to the Seder, including making grape juice by squeezing grapes, tasting and voting on which ones we liked best, and tasting vegetables dipped in salt water, which reminds us of the tears that Bnei Yisrael cried while slaves in Mitzrayim.

As Gan Hey is learning about Pesach, the children wore costumes and acted out our “magid” It was a great way to experience going out of Egypt and going from slavery to freedom. The children had an amazing time!

LOWER SCHOOL

This week, our second graders worked on the culminating activity for our Social Studies research project. Students combined their writing, research, and STEM skills to create a Civil Rights Parade featuring the activists they studied. Each student coded an Ozobot to travel along a parade route while presenting their civil rights leader. As the Ozobots “marched” in the parade, students proudly read their informational paragraphs to the class so everyone could learn about the important contributions of these leaders.

Third graders have been hard at work learning about Pesach. They are creating an interactive Haggadah to share with their families at their seders. Students are examining the themes of slavery and freedom and discussing which aspects of the seder remind them of these themes. They also learned about what it was like to offer the Korban Pesach in the Beit Hamikdash and what we do at our seders nowadays to remind us of the experience.

Our 3rd graders stepped into the future this week during an unforgettable STEM Night! The energy in the room was electric as students explored a variety of hands-on stations, ranging from AI explorations and VR experiences to coding challenges and cardboard mechanics. A huge thank you goes out to our incredible Middle School STEM Squad students, who did a fantastic job leading these activities and inspiring our younger learners to think like engineers. Our 5th Grade Robotics Team gave a special demonstration, inviting 3rd graders to test their skills on the official gameboard. Between 3D printing and some "Robotics Basketball," students documented their discoveries in their STEM journals. We even had a visit and photo op with the Yavneh Redhawk and our very own STEM Robot mascot!

SEL UPDATE: During first-grade SEL, students continue to learn self-regulation strategies to help manage big emotions. We explored the idea of a calm or safe space where they can go in their minds when they feel upset or overwhelmed. Using their five senses, students imagined what their special calm place might look, sound, and feel like. They drew pictures of their spaces and shared times when they might use this strategy. The students were very excited to share creative ideas like beaches, castles, bedrooms, and peaceful outdoor places.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Over the past few weeks, the entire 7th grade worked on the Mitzvah L’Dorot project.

Students worked either individually or in groups to research one of the 613 mitzvot, using source packets given to them. They worked hard to learn in-depth about their specific mitzvah, created a structure to represent the research and then wrote a summary of what they learned.

They started their research together as a grade, as they began the project a few weeks ago, and today they took the opportunity to culminate as a grade as well. They heard divrei Torah from different students about the mitzvot they researched and then played a Mitzvah bingo game, using their projects which were on display. It was exciting to see the students walk around the room eager to see all of the projects and hopefully learn something new along the way.

We are proud of them and they should be very proud of their work too!

PHOTO GALLERY

YPAA

The YPAA held its second Book Club meeting this past Monday night! Thank you to Rachel Lavitas for hosting. We were delighted to be joined by author Gila Pfeffer for a meaningful discussion about her book “Nearly Departed.” Stay tuned for details about our next meetup!